Void of Tears
by Katya Scriptari
Summary: -REPOSTED- Seto Kaiba has brought about the end of the world. And it all began with kidnapping the pharaoh's hikari...Yugi angst, Yami angst; very dark.
1. Destroyer of Hope

 Void of Tears

Rating: PG-13/R

Pairing: None (well, if you like yaoi, you can make this a Yami/Yugi…)

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! (but I WANNA)

Me: first I'd like to thank my friend E-chan for coming up with the title. 

Second...this is one of the most angsty fics I've ever written. Really. 

Okay, I love Yami and I love Yugi. I don't own YGO, and I'm not expressing any type of hate here. NO FLAMES!!!

For all you Angst fans…Enjoy! ^_^

/Yugi to Yami/ //Yami to Yugi// \Private thoughts\

======

Yami ran frantically through the streets of Domino, mentally calling his aibou's name. //Yugi!!! Yugi!! Please, aibou, answer me!!! Yugi!!// No reply.

//Yugi!!!!!//

/Y...Yami.../ a faint reply.

//YUGI! Where are you?!/ was the frantic response. 

/Yami...I...sorry.../ the weak voice of Yugi Motou was cut off.

//AIBOU!!!!// Yami ran faster. Now that his hikari had spoken to him, he knew now where he was going.

He turned right at the next crossing and hurtled towards the plaza as fast as he could run. [A/N: the plaza is where Yami and the Rare Hunter dueled] \God, Yugi, please be okay...\

Yugi had been kidnapped by Seto Kaiba 3 days before. Yami had been searching tirelessly for him, but had found no trace of him. Finally, he had gotten a lead on where his aibou was being kept, but it looked like time was running out for his small counterpart. \God only  knows what Kaiba's done to him...\

The plaza was now in view. Yami pushed his limits as he ran as fast as he possibly could towards it.

Yami burst out into the open and stopped. Catching his breath, he whipped his head around frantically, searching.

//YUGI!// A small form lay face down a small distance away, motionless. Yami threw himself down next to his hikari and turned him gently on his back. He gasped.

Yugi's face was bruised in several places. A few patches of red on the otherwise white shirt gave away more wounds on the frail frame. He wasn't moving.

"Yugi...please..." Yami said in an urgent half-whisper, shaking his hikari gently. "Please..."

Nothing.

Frantically, Yami drew Yugi's upper body to him, his counterpart's head falling back. Supporting his head with one hand, Yami listened first for his aibou's breathing, then for his heartbeat.

Nothing.

Yami sat back on his heels in despair, Yugi's lifeless body falling forward to rest on his darker half's. "No..." he whispered softly, embracing the cold body. "No..."

Yami gently laid his dead hikari on the ground. His hand gently smoothed back the bangs from the angelic face, touched the tear-streaks the little one had cried in despair. "Yugi..."

Yami's hands curled into fists. Tears fell down his cheeks as the broken pharaoh raised his head to the overcast sky and let out a loud cry of despair.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!"

Unbeknownst to Yami, a black car had pulled up to the sidewalk. Two burly men in black suits got out, and made their way to the broken and distraught yami, who was holding Yugi's hand.

No preliminaries were performed; the goons just grabbed the crying teen by the arms, and hauled him to the car. Yami didn't fight; he merely stretched out a hand to the body of his hikari as he was shoved in the car. Collapsing on the seat, he merely waited out the trip to the Kaiba Mansion.

~*~*~

Yami again didn't put up a fight as he was dragged into his nemesis's residence. He didn't even bother looking up when the door was opened for them. \God...Yugi...I'll never forgive myself...\

The goons dragged him into the foyer and shoved him forward.

"Dear me, but I'm disappointed," a mocking voice cut into his thoughts. "I was expecting you at my throat by now."

Yami didn't look up as tears blurred his vision. "You killed him, Kaiba. You killed him."

"Nah, I didn't kill him. He just couldn't handle the...stress." Seto smirked viciously.

Yami's head jerked up. He glared at Seto through his tears. "You KILLED him, you baka!" he yelled. "The only reason I'm alive is gone! You killed the only reason for my existence, you KILLED him!" He flung himself at Seto's throat. "YOU KILLED HIM!"

Seto shoved Yami off of him and before Yami could blink Seto had nailed him in the jaw, sending him flying to the ground. Yami couldn't hold his tears back anymore and he sobbed, curling up in the fetal position. 

Seto watched all this contemptuously. "Who would have thought that I'd be able to reduce the mighty King of Games to a sniveling dog? Just like Joey..."

Yami lifted his head and anguished crimson eyes met cold blue ones. "Kill me," he whispered. "Just kill me already." Seto blinked in surprise. "I have nothing left to live for."

Seto sighed. This was getting him nowhere. "Escort our distinguished guest to the door. I'm done with him."

Once again Yami was hauled to his feet. Seto watched as his guards carelessly shoved the pharaoh out the door, causing him to stumble and fall down the stairs. He looked out the window and watched as Yami slowly dragged himself to his feet, and began to stumble down the sidewalk and out of sight.

~*~*~

Yami continued to clumsily walk down the sidewalk, in the general direction of the plaza and the park. He shook with every step, the peaceful but bruised face of his hikari haunting him. \I should have done something...I should have protected him...oh Ra...Yugi...\

He collapsed to the ground once more in front of the main park gate, unable to go on. \Ra...just let me die...just let me die...\

"You don't know how entertaining it is to see the mighty pharaoh on the ground." Another mocking voice, but different than that of Seto's, rang in his ears.

"Just get on with it, Tomb Robber," was the muffled reply. Bakura stared at the form below him. "Beat the crap out of me. Insult me, mock me. Kill me. Take the Puzzle. I don't care anymore."

Bakura stared in open-mouthed shock. This was the former arrogant King of Games? This was the cold pharaoh? "What the hell is **up** with you, you baka pharaoh?! Something small goes wrong in your life and you just give up?! Get up," he ordered. "Get on with your life."

Yami couldn't take it anymore. He leapt to his feet, grabbed the former tomb robber by the collar and shoved him against the gate. Bakura was shocked to see the tear-streaks on Yami's face. "Get on with my life?!" he snarled. "How can I get on with my life when the reason I was **brought** to life is gone?" A tear rolled down his cheek once more. "Yugi's **dead**, damnit. Kaiba kidnapped him, tortured him, and **murdered** him. And I wasn't able to do a damn thing about it."

The shock Bakura felt before didn't compare to what he was feeling now. He could only stare at Yami as he seemed to collapse internally. "I couldn't do a damn thing, Bakura...and now he's gone. I don't have a thing to live for now, you of all people should know that." Ryou had fallen ill some weeks before, and had come dangerously close to death. Fortunately, he'd pulled through, but Bakura had felt him slipping away and had despaired. Yes, Bakura knew what it felt like.

Yami started to sob again, burying his face in his hands. Bakura did the only thing he could think of. He put his arms around his former adversary and let him cry.

They stayed that way for a few moments. Then Bakura said to the still crying spirit, more gently this time, "Pull yourself together. Where'd you find him?"

Yami made an effort to stop his tears. "I-in the plaza near here."

The former tomb robber thought for a moment. "Can you show me?"

A nod was his only reply. Yami turned and nearly fell; his natural grace was obviously out the window. Bakura steadied the distraught spirit, and allowed himself to be led to the site of Yugi's death.

~*~*~

He was still there when they arrived. It was getting dark, and several street lamps had come on, illuminating the small body on the ground. 

Yami knelt beside his hikari, once more taking the cold hand into his own. Bakura drew in his breath. It looked like Yugi had been through hell.

He knelt beside the other spirit, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"I have nothing left to live for."

"Now that's bullshit." Bakura growled. "You're the one who the whole world is relying on right now, you can't just give up. You've got an entire world to fight for."

"What's the point? I'll get sealed again, only this time I'll retain my memories. I won't conveniently forget the next time I'm awakened."

Bakura didn't really have an answer for him. He'd have to live with this for the rest of his life.

At that moment, three figures entered from the opposite side, causing Yami to look up and Bakura to stand. Two simultaneous gasps were heard, for walking towards them was – 

"Kaiba!" Yami growled. Shoving himself up from the ground, he hurtled towards Seto with a murderous look on his face.

The reaction was instantaneous. Both bodyguards pulled out their guns before Yami had taken more than two steps.

The plaza rang with the shots. 

Yami fell. 

"Yami!" Bakura yelled, running over to the other spirit.

Yami was dead before he hit the ground.

Bakura laid the dead pharaoh next to his hikari. Then he turned to Seto, an expression of anger mixed with fear on his face. "You **bastard**!" he yelled. "Do you realize what you've done?!"

Seto's cold, indifferent look didn't change. "They're dead."

"You **baka**! You've killed the only people who could have prevented the Shadow Realm from taking over! You've sealed the fate of the whole world with the death of those two!"

The full magnitude of what he'd done hit Seto full in the face. He staggered back, face pale.

Bakura looked up, and the fear on his face showed. "Look up, Kaiba! The Shadow Realm is taking over, and there's NOTHING you can do to stop it!"

Kaiba looked up at the blue/black clouds that were forming. His shocked expression changed to terror.

Bakura looked at Yami, and one final, desperate idea came to mind. He carefully removed the puzzle from his former rival's neck and placed it on his own. Immediately, it started to glow.

Bakura struggled to wield the power of the Puzzle so he could hold off the onslaught of the Shadow Realm. The Puzzle, however, fought against him. The former tomb robber was sweating with the effort as he tried to push away those ominous clouds.

***CRACK***

***SHATTER***

The Puzzle had shattered under the strain.

Bakura watched the pieces of what once was their last hope fall to the ground. He took off the necklace and held it up for Seto to see.

"You see?!" he yelled, shaking the necklace, the top piece of the Puzzle glinting ominously. "The only one who can wield its power is Yami! Or Yugi! But you've destroyed them both, and **with** them, the whole world!"

The blue/black clouds of the Shadow Realm descended to their location in a tornado shape. However it didn't draw anything in. The tornado landed a few feet away from them. Long, slender tendrils oozed out of the swirling form, and towards the two spiky-haired figures lying side by side. 

__Pharaoh__...they seemed to whisper. __At last__...

Bakura watched helplessly as the black tendrils enveloped the two and sucked them into the swirling column. 

The column ascended, and the clouds spread. 

Darkness settled over the whole world, and soon screams of fear could be heard in every city, country, and continent. The void of tears had settled, and only horror and chaos would ensue.

And Seto and Bakura could only watch.

======

Well I did say pure angst did I not? Hope you liked it! There will be one more chapter after this one, so never fear…sort of…*evil grin*

R&R please! Thanks for reading!


	2. Castle of Shadows, King of Despair

Void of Tears

Thanks to all who reviewed! Yes, this is the last chapter for this story; however, my good friend and fellow authoress, Neko Oni, wants to write a third chapter...depicting the ahh...room at the end. It was not my idea! But, you vote and tell me if you would like to see that chapter. Who knows? I may get inspiration for a fourth!

Enjoy the conclusion of Void of Tears (as we know it). Keep tissues handy, for not all stories end happily...

/Yugi to Yami/ //Yami to Yugi// \Private thoughts\

======

Seto Kaiba sighed in a bored manner as he sat on his throne. \Why is it that I never see a good challenge anymore?\ he thought rather sarcastically. \The ruler of the world should have **something** to amuse him, ne?\

It was nearly six months after the Shadow Realm descended on the world, engulfing the earth in darkness and chaos. Nearly six months since Seto had assumed dominion over the world, the Shadow Realm willing to work with him and the Monsters coming to his side as he accumulated the remaining six Millennium Items.

\Amusing that I find myself actually **wishing** that pathetic Pharaoh was still around...perhaps he would be my toy I brought out when I was feeling in need of a struggle...\ Seto's cold blue eyes drifted over to a figure hunched over a table at work. \Not that my wish won't **eventually** come true...\

Yugi Motou picked up a piece of the Millennium Puzzle and miserably tried to fit it into a small space in the growing pyramid. The chains that attached his thin wrists to the table caught on the edge of a piece and pulled it out, causing it to clatter back onto the table. Sighing dejectedly, the small teen picked up the piece and put it back into its place.

Seto smirked as he watched. The Shadow Realm had been incredibly cooperative when he resurrected his spiky-haired rival, since it knew that Seto was on its side. It had even put Yami's spirit into the Puzzle. \Which SHOULD be done, by now...\ Seto thought, growling softly in impatience. \The brat has been at this for over a month now...too bad he's the only one who could do it. And the only one, along with that pharaoh, who can wield it. No matter. He'll just have to do it for me.\

Standing abruptly, he slunk over to where his captive was working, taking care to be silent. He stood behind Yugi's chair, watching the little one mechanically try to fit one piece after another in the half-finished pyramid.

"Aren't you finished **yet**, midget?" The cold drawl caused Yugi to start violently, the chains on his biceps, wrists, and ankles jerking him mercilessly back into his former position.

"Gomen nasai, Kaiba-sama" Yugi whispered, trembling. "It's difficult."

"You're pathetic," Seto spat out, causing Yugi to flinch. "You've been at this for a month and a half. How long did it take you the first time?"

"E-eight y-y-years," Yugi stammered, knowing what was coming.

"EIGHT YEARS?!" Seto exploded. \I am NOT waiting that long!\ Yugi could only nod in reply, lowering his head. "You've done this before, so it WILL take you less time." He growled.

Yugi dared to shake his head slightly. "Once the puzzle is broken, Kaiba-sama, the pieces change."

\He **dares** speak to me that way?!\ Seto lashed out suddenly and struck Yugi across the face, causing the little hikari to once again be jerked around by his restraints. He gripped Yugi by the hair, forcing him to look up at the coldhearted ruler. "You **will** finish that Puzzle within 2 weeks," he growled into the frightened teen's face. "Or I **will** send you down to Malik and Bakura."

Yugi gulped visibly, fear showing in his eyes. Malik and Bakura were in charge of Seto's torture chambers. After the Shadow Realm had descended, it had ensnared their minds and they had proven to be powerful allies. "I-I-I will t-try, Kaiba-s-sama."

Seto shoved Yugi's head away and down, causing it to smack into the table. He began to walk away, then stopped. "Oh. As an **extra** incentive...you are only receiving one meal per two days until you do." Yugi stared in shock; however, he knew he had no choice. He tried to rub his aching cheek but his chains prevented him from doing anything but sitting, standing and putting the Puzzle together.

A tear rolled down his cheek as he picked up the half-finished pyramid once again. \Must I submit Yami to this? Then again...what choice do I have...?\ He was deathly afraid of the torture chambers. He'd never been in there, but the screams echoing from below coupled with the memory of his own beating he'd received for trying to escape made him unwilling to find out what the chambers were like. The little one resumed his task like he had for the past 6 weeks once more.

Seto smirked to himself as he stalked away from the little table. It was fun to frighten the midget so; he knew how terrified Yugi was of those rooms down below. \Not that I haven't given him good reason to...\ He smirked, remembering the other one's confusion and fear when he awoke, his pain and terror while going through his punishment for attempting to escape. \You've escaped me one too many times, Yugi\ Seto thought to himself. \This time, I took no chances.\

"Mai," Seto called to his prettiest and most trustworthy servant. The said blonde came immediately to him. "Please inform whoever is in charge of the brat's food that he has requested a **new** diet," he said with a nasty smirk. "It is simply too much for him to eat one meal a day. He now skips two days between meals." Mai stared at him in shock for a moment; Yugi had barely anything to eat as it was! But she knew better than to argue and dutifully went her way, glancing sympathetically at the former duelist, whose shoulders shook from trying to hold back tears.

\This is the former king of games\ Mai thought, tears filling her eyes as she walked down the hallway. \This is what that kind boy of so long ago is reduced to: forced into slavery and getting half-starved. It makes me sick. If the world hadn't ended already, I'd say it was about to.\

::2 weeks later::

Yugi looked weakly at the five remaining pieces of the Puzzle that he had yet to fit in. He could barely find the strength to keep awake, much less maneuver his manacled arms to try to do his job. 

Looking up slightly as a crude plate and glass was placed in front of him, he vaguely remembered that today was one of the days he was allowed to eat. Snatching desperately at what could hardly be called nourishment, he ate the coarse bread ravenously, as though it were a feast in itself, gulping down the water afterwards. He'd learned to ignore his stomach's pleas for more; he knew he wouldn't be getting anything else for a while.

Finding new energy, he once again picked up the Puzzle and was able to fit a piece in its proper place.

"Almost done, I see," he jumped; Seto always managed to sneak up on him when he least expecting it, enjoying scaring Yugi out of his wits. "Took you **long** enough."

"Y-yes" Yugi whispered. He whimpered slightly when Seto roughly took hold of his hair.

"Yes, **what**, midget?" 

He hated having to do this. "Y-yes...master." Oh, how he hated saying that with a passion! How he hated being forced to degrade himself, hated having his captivity repeatedly shoved in his face. \It's not like you're anything at all to him\ a nasty voice in his head whispered. \You're not good for anything else than being his slave.\ He so wanted to shut that voice up, but he felt part of himself starting to believe it.

He allowed his head to drop when Seto released it. "I tire of reminding you of your **place**," the ruler snarled. "I think it's time we learned proper respect."

Half an hour later, a very bruised and battered Yugi fit the second to last piece in its spot. It was very late and the food he'd ingested a mere hour or so before was already gone, bringing a false ray of hope to his malnourished muscles.

With trembling hands, Yugi fit the last piece into the Puzzle, and stared at the golden pyramid that lay on the table. He managed to rest his elbows on the table, hiding his face in his hands. \I'm sorry, Yami,\ he sobbed, \I'm so sorry. But I don't have any choice...I'm so sorry.\ A ray of hope stuck in his mind that maybe Yami could put an end to this torment, destroy this hellish world and build a new one, one of peace, like they had talked about so many times before...\Before I died and was brought back as Seto's pawn.\ He cried harder, his sobs echoing in the empty and lonely chamber. \Oh, Yami, I'm sorry...I'm sorry you have to see the world like this...\

Unlike his first time solving the Puzzle, no glow came. His yami, who he'd looked forward to seeing after nearly 7 months of living hell, was nowhere to be found, mentally and visually. Yugi let his arms drop, let his head rest on the cold surface of the table, still crying. \This is what it comes to\ he thought. \Step one is over, now it's time to move onto Step Two. Instead of being chained to a chair, you become chained to Seto's feet, so he can use his toy whenever he needs the Puzzle's power...\

Yugi cried himself to sleep, the Puzzle's chain necklace loosely held in one hand, wishing that this all was a bad dream.

~*~*~

In the deep of night, it was pitch black in the large room that was both Yugi's workplace and his bed. He dreamt of forgotten times: times when the sun shone, times when he and his former friends hung out together, times when his yami and himself would spend time on their own.

Yami, too, was dreaming of forgotten times, dreaming of when Yugi was alive, when his hikari would run after him, laughing as they chased all over the park. He came into consciousness when he felt a pull from the Puzzle. \No,\ he cried mentally, trying to curl up into a ball. \No, don't make me face the world again. I should be **dead**!\

Eventually, the pull became too strong, and Yami reluctantly let himself be drawn down what seemed to be a long dark passage that led into the world. 

The puzzle glowed hesitatingly at first, then became brighter and brighter as the spirit of the pharaoh came into the world once again.

Yami blinked, his eyes adjusting to the blackness of the room. \What **is** this place?\ he thought with a shudder. \It looks like a much bigger Kaiba Mansion...much more sinister-looking. I sense a great evil here...\ He looked around the room for a long moment, as though for answers. Finding none, he turned to one side and gasped.

\Yugi!\ His light...his hikari...slumped over a table in a position that could be called anything but comfortable, chains binding his wrists to the table, and his biceps and ankles to his chair. Using his power, he made the Puzzle glow brightly, casting away some of the shadow. His heart wrenched as he surveyed his aibou. 

Yugi was dangerously thin; it looked like he hadn't eaten in a long time. His skin was grimy from lack of bathing, and his clothes were dirty and torn in various places. One leg of his pants had been torn off, exposing a thin, pale bruised leg, and his shirt had been sliced open across the back several times. 

Yami stepped over to his light, brushing the bangs back from a bruised and tear-stained face, just as he had months before. \Yugi...who has **done** this to you? How can you be alive? I **felt** you die! Who brought you back only to make you suffer so?\ 

Yugi sighed in his sleep, a look of misery and longing coming across his features. Yami bent over and embraced his hikari gently for a moment. When he let go, Yugi's face had returned to its semi-peaceful expression. //I'll be here in the morning, Yugi...// Yami pulled back into the Puzzle, contemplating on the strange and horrific circumstances he had found his hikari in. 

He thought for a long time.

~*~*~

Seto strode up to Yugi's table, not pleased that the little hikari was still asleep, though he **was** pleased to see the finished Puzzle. \At least I'll have some entertainment early in the day...\

"Wake up," he snarled in Yugi's ear. Getting no reply, he yanked the sleeping teen up by the hair. "Wake **up**, midget," he growled up close to his ear. Seeing Yugi jump slightly and stir, he allowed the spiky head to fall back on the table. Not getting any other response than what he'd just seen for another 30 seconds, he viciously brought a knee into Yugi's stomach, causing the small hikari to try and double up in pain, now fully awake.

Yami watched this through the Puzzle, anger boiling in his veins. \So, Kaiba is behind all this...how **dare** he hurt my hikari like that...\

"I tire of having to drag you up every morning," the coldhearted ruler of the world sneered as Yugi made an attempt to raise his head. A flick of his hand and a servant came scurrying with an item and placed it in his master's hand. Seto cracked the whip in the air above Yugi's head, causing him to cringe away in fear. "Let this be a warning to you," he hissed, preparing to strike.

As he brought the whip down, a bright light blinded him as the finished Puzzle glowed angrily. A second later, a blinking Seto felt the whip being jerked out of his hand as he came face to face with a very angry Yami.

Yugi looked up in hope-filled shock, and nearly collapsed in relief when he saw his yami. /Yami! You're back!/ he cried mentally.

//You **bet** I'm back. And I'm about to **murder** this bastard for all that he's done to you.// Yami's very angry mental voice was a blessing to Yugi's ears.

"How **dare** you," Yami growled in that deadly tone of voice that had meant doom for many a person. "How **dare** you bring Yugi back, only to chain him down and beat him. How **dare** you."

Seto laughed, a cold, cruel, merciless laugh. "And what are you going to do, **King of Games**," he sneered arrogantly. "I rule the world with the Shadow Realm by my side. All monsters pay me heed. What will you do to try and protect my little **slave**?"

Yugi flinched visibly, and Yami rested a hand on his hikari's arm in silent comfort. "Yugi will **never** be a slave to the likes of **you**," he snarled.

Seto smirked. "Oh, but he **is**, Yami," he sneered. "I'd have thought you would be observant enough to notice." He took a threatening step towards the two.

Yami's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I may not have a deck, and the monsters may be at **your** call. But I do have...Mirror Wall!" he shouted suddenly, and a mirror-like wall flew up around the two and the table. No one could see in.

Seto growled in frustration. He knew that the only thing that could break that was the Catapult Turtle. Unfortunately, he didn't have one in his deck and the real one was out in the world somewhere. \Yami can't keep that up forever, though,\ he thought. \So I'll just have to wait him out.\ Seto sat in his throne and waited.

Inside the Wall, Yami was using Chain Destruction to destroy the binds on his light. As soon as he was done, Yugi enveloped him in a tight, but weak, embrace, clinging to Yami as though he were a lifeline. "Yami," he sobbed into his dark's shirt, "Yami...you came back..."

Yami drew Yugi up out of the chair into his arms. //Of **course** I came back, Yugi...// he said mentally, holding his hikari close as he cried. //Why wouldn't I have?//

/Oh Yami...I missed you so much.../ Yugi's grip tightened on the spirit.

//And I you, aibou.// Yami sat on the edge of the table. //Now. What **exactly** has that bastard done to you?//

Yugi flinched again and pressed his face into Yami's shirt, crying some more. /Yami, Kaiba-sama was right, I **am** a slave, that's why he brought me back. So I could finish the Puzzle, and wield it for him when I was done. I tried to escape, I tried to resist...but he'd beat me and then he restricted my meals to one every 3 days. He even made me call him 'master'...God Yami I'm so sorry...I didn't want you to have to see this...and now Kaiba-sama will make you use the Puzzle for him.../

Yami was enraged as he had never been before. His hikari...his light...subjected to such horrible conditions...that was nowhere near acceptable in his book. To **use** Yugi...simply because Yugi was the only one who could wield the Puzzle...he was definitely going to murder Seto when he was finished. //Don't be sorry, Yugi. None of this is your doing. I am going to mutilate and destroy a certain billionaire in about thirty seconds, because this is all **his** doing.//

Yami held Yugi closer. //And I'll be **dead** before Kaiba uses either one of us.//

Yugi looked up at Yami, hope shining in his eyes. /Arigatou, Yami./

Yami touched his hikari's face and concentrated. His magic flowed into Yugi, healing his wounds and removing the dirt and grime from his clothes and his body. Removing his hand, Yami brushed the tears on his aibou's cheeks away. //It's the least I can do, aibou.// He picked up the Puzzle from the table and carefully put it over his hikari's head.

Yugi gasped. It had been so long since he felt clean, and the feeling was a blessing. He didn't know how to thank his yami enough.

Yami felt the edges of his magic flicker slightly, and knew the time had come for him to lower the Wall. Preparing to summon the one monster he knew would come to him, he lowered the wall and prepared to attack.

~*~*~

Seto smirked and rose as he saw the Mirror Wall flicker. He summoned three of his monsters to him: Celtic Guardian, Ryu-Kishin, and Rude Kaiser. "Prepare to attack," he said coldly, knowing that they would comply. "When the pharaoh reveals himself, don't allow him or the brat to escape."

The wall lowered, and Yami stepped forward, Yugi in his arms, and his eyes practically glowing with a fiery hatred.

The monsters surrounded Yami in a flash before Seto could tell them what to do. With a feral roar, Yami blasted them back with pure raw energy. Seto swallowed. The Pharaoh was back with a vengeance, and he was furious.

"I SUMMON YOU, DARK MAGICIAN!" the Pharaoh roared, and much to Seto's surprise, the monster came as called for. Seeing Seto's look of surprise, Yami smirked. "The Dark Magician answered to the Pharaoh alone in my time, Kaiba." The Pharaoh's smirk grew wider when he saw the three monsters regroup in front of Seto. "ATTACK, DARK MAGICIAN!! **WIPE THEM OUT**!"

The mage raised his staff and destroyed all three with one blow.

Seto staggered back a step from the blast, but smirked. "Yami, you can be so pathetic sometimes."

Yami growled and yelled, "HINOTAMA!" Balls of fire came from the sky and rocketed into Seto. Wincing in pain, Seto waited out the blasts.

Standing straight, the ruler of the world glared at the Pharaoh, smoke tendrils billowing around him. "You just made your last mistake, Pharaoh." He spat. He drew a card from his pocket and held it aloft. "BLUE EYES WHITE DRAGON! I SUMMON YOU!"

Yami's eyes grew wide as the gargantuan monster appeared in front of its master. "ATTACK THE DARK MAGICIAN!" Seto roared, and the Dragon aimed its attack at the purple-clad mage.

"Mirror F—" Yami was cut off before he could finish as the blast knocked into the Dark Magician, sending him and his aibou flying backwards into the wall.

Yugi felt the breath leave his yami as he smacked against the wall. Using the Puzzle, the small hikari transferred some of his energy to his yami, who opened his eyes and smiled quickly at his hikari before standing up in front of Yugi, protecting him.

"You know, I **might** let you and your pathetic hikari to live if you surrender now," Seto said mockingly.

Yami was breathing heavily. "I...will...be...*dead*," he spat out, "before Yugi...or **I**...will **ever** serve **you**."

Seto pretended to sigh in regret. "Very well," he said, feigning resignation, "You leave me no other choice."

Yami prepared to summon the Spell-Binding Circle and Ookazi. The combination of the two, he knew, would be enough to disable Seto. Then, with Reborn the Monster, his Dark Magician would be returned to him and he would finish him off.

Seto merely reached into his pocket and pulled out a round, golden something. Yami gasped.

"The Millennium Eye!"

"Very good, Yami. You recognized the item of your demise."

Yami glared. "Spell-Binding Circle!" The magical circle encompassed Seto, trapping him in place. Yami drew in a breath; it was getting harder to summon what he needed, and he'd have to put all his energy into the Ookazi and Monster Reborn cards. "Now, Kaiba, we'll see whose demise is at hand. You will **pay** for what you did to my aibou."

Seto was weakening under the circle, but he still stood tall and smirked. "Will I now? I don't think so. However, I will spare **you** from my hospitality." Seto smirk got wider as Yami growled. "There is nothing you can do **now**, Yami! Know that you leave your hikari at my mercy once I am done with you!" Seto crowed triumphantly, holding the Eye aloft. "For **nothing** can save you from...OBLIVION!" The Eye glowed and sent a beam towards the shocked Yami.

Yami couldn't move out of the way because Yugi was right behind him. He merely stood and stared down his impending doom. //Aibou...Ra...I'm so sorry...//

/Yami! No! Get out of the way! Let me take the blow!/

The beam of light struck Yami full-force in the chest. He screamed, mentally, sending one last message to his light, //YUGI...AISHITERU!!//

"NOOOO!!!! YAMI!!!!!" Yugi's scream blended with Yami's as the pharaoh slumped to the floor, his soulless eyes staring blankly upward.

Yugi scurried forward and took his yami's hand. Seto was reminded of the day the great pharaoh held his dead hikari's hand before he was shot and killed. "Yami...Yami, no...onegai...why didn't you let me take it?!" Yugi sobbed. 

The Spell-Binding Circle disappeared, leaving Seto and his powers intact. An evil grin crossed the ruler's face as the perfect plan to break Yugi crossed his mind.

"Kunai with Chain!" An end to a chain solidified in Seto's fist, the other end shooting towards the crying teen and wrapping rapidly around him, tightening mercilessly, pinning Yugi's arms to his sides. Yugi gasped in pain as the chain dug into his skin.

Seto ignored this and instead looked at Yami. "Get up," he ordered. The soulless shell of the pharaoh complied, staring ahead lifelessly. Yugi stared up at Yami from his position on the ground. "Take Yugi down to Malik and Bakura. Help them...make him comfortable."

Yugi gasped in fear. "No..." he whispered as his former yami stepped forward stiffly, took the chain, and walked down to the place Yugi feared the most.

The dark blue clouds of the Shadow Ream darkened to pitch black as Yugi's broken sobs, pleas, and screams of pain echoed throughout the Castle of Dark Illusions, Seto Kaiba's domain. The last ray of hope for the world had been shredded and stamped on.

The Shadow Realm's grip on the world was absolute. Seto Kaiba's power over the people was complete.

~Owari~

Yes, yes, bad ending, I know. But…I wanted a sad ending. Don't hurt me! *cowers*

Like I said earlier, if Neko Oni will ever get her ass into gear (*pointed look at said authoress* Oni: hey! Don't hurt me!), there might be a third chapter to this. And, if I get inspired, a fourth. 

Thanks to all who reviewed:

Cyberkat

T.A.P.M.M.

Lady Ann Kenobi

Rutu

Neko Oni (WRITE THE CHAPTER, DANGIT! ^_~)

No-name critic

Yugi Mutou

Mimiheart

Priestess

Indygo

R&R please!


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